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Norisring 2015
The served as the third round of the 2015 DTM Championship, held at the "Monte Carlo of Germany", the Norisring.'Season guide: Norisring', dtm.com, (DTM, 2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/event/2015-norisring?language=en-gb, (Accessed 02/05/2015) Found in the city of Nuremberg, the Norisring formed around the streets in the former Rallying Square would host races five and six of the season. The shorter 40 minute race started wet, although several drivers opted to start on slicks which ultimately proved to be the correct choice.'RACE 1: WEHRLEIN EXTENDS RANGE OF SUCCESS FOR MERCEDES-BENZ', dtm.com, (DTM, 27/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/race-1-wehrlein-extends-range-success-mercedes-benz-2015-06-27.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) This fact was demonstrated by Pascal Wehrlein, as he led a quartet of Mercedes C63s across the line to take victory, having started in fifth. Race Two was held in dry conditions throughout, which aided Bruno Spengler in taking BMW's first podium of the season, as Robert Wickens took victory.'NORISRING: RACE 2 AT A GLANCE', dtm.com, (DTM, 28/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/norisring-race-2-glance-2015-06-28.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) Background The entry list remained the same for the Norisring, with foregoing his Amlin Aguri seat for the Formula E season finale in order to take part. Likewise, the Norisring was unchanged from the race last season, while there was big news for Marco Wittmann, as he enjoyed his first test of a Formula One car for the first time during the test.'WITTMANN’S DREAM TO COME TRUE: TEST IN A FORMULA 1 CAR', dtm.com, (DTM, 22/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/wittmann-s-dream-come-true-test-formula-1-car-2015-06-23.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) The Championship battle was in Jamie Green's favour post Lausitzring, as he brought three race wins and a healthy seventeen point lead over . Edoardo Mortara had slipped to third at the Lausitzring, but his tally was enough to keep Pascal Wehrlein out of the top three, with Audi laying claim to the four of the top five, and accounting for all four race victories. That also left Audi at the top of the Teams and Brands Championships, with Team Rosberg at the summit of the Teams, and Audi flying high with 264 points. In contrast, Mercedes-Benz were yet to break the 100 point barrier, with HWA their best placed team in fourth. But even they were fairing better the BMW, who only had half Mercedes' tally of points, were yet to get a podium, and only had one car, Maxime Martin in the top ten of the Championship. Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying (Race One) Qualifying for the first race was held on Saturday morning in wet conditions, although it soon became clear during the 20 minute session that the circuit was drying quickly.'QUALIFYING 1: VIETORIS AND PAFFETT ON THE FRONT ROW', dtm.com, (DTM, 27/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/qualifying-1-vietoris-and-paffett-front-row-2015-06-27.html, (Accessed 28/08/2015) Christian Vietoris used the drying conditions to their fullest to take pole in the dying seconds, having started his final lap just moments before the flag dropped, and therefore was the last man to set a lap. He therefore beat Gary Paffett and Jamie Green to pole by under half a tenth of a second, as a second covered all 24 cars. Paul di Resta looked set to take pole before the final laps, and may have taken pole but for a lock up on his last attempt ruined his chance. With Pascal Wehrlein and Robert Wickens also in the top ten, it was advantage Mercedes for the afternoon race, with seven cars in the top half of the field. Augusto Farfus was the best placed BMW driver in sixth, as Marco Wittmann and Martin Tomczyk also forced their way into the top ten. Audi had not produced their best display during the session, with only two cars in the top ten and five in the bottom six. Rookie-wise, Lucas Auer claimed twelfth to be the best of the three, with Tom Blomqvist seventeenth, despite BMW's struggles to this point. , meanwhile was among the Audi strugglers, finishing the session twentieth. Post Qualifying (One) The results of the qualifying session for the first race are displayed below: Race One Another rain cloud arrived at the Norisring in between qualifying and the race on Saturday, although, like qualifying, the skies were clearing as the start approached.'NORISRING: RACE 1 IN DETAIL', dtm.com, (DTM, 27/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/norisring-race-1-detail-2015-06-27.html, (Accessed 28/08/2015) With the speed at which the circuit dried earlier in the day, the field was split on what to try at the start, with some opting for the slicks, although the majority went for wets. Jamie Green and Pascal Wehrlein were the ones to look out for at the sharp end of the field, with both starting on slicks. Report Green was, initially the best of the starters off the line, but would ultimately lose out into the braking for turn one, as his slicks, with little grip, carried him wide and down the order. Admittedly, Paul di Resta was on the inside of the Englishman, with the Scot managing to run wide also, allowing Robert Wickens through on the inside. Christian Vietoris, meanwhile, was able to defend from Gary Paffett for the lead through the hairpin, before braving it around the outside of the Scholler Esses to keep the Brit from gaining the lead later on.Sawaya Muzaina, 'Race 1 - Full Re-Live (English) - DTM Norisring 2015', youtube.com, (YouTube, 25/07/2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Obg-v6BWc, (Accessed 28/08/2015) Although the leaders made it through cleanly, the mid-pack did not, as Lucas Auer touched Miguel Molina and put the Spaniard into a spin. As Molina came round, Auer was then collected by the Audi, forcing him into a similar slide, with both ending up perpendicular to the track facing the inside wall. In the resulting bottle neck, Mike Rockenfeller gained a handful of places, while Tom Blomqvist lost out heavily. The young Brit was forced onto the inside of the curb through the hairpin, and emerged right behind the spinning duo when he rejoined. The slick shod cars continued to struggle in the early stages, as the safety car emerged to allow the debris from the start to be cleared, although it was in within three laps. Only Wehrlein and Augusto Farfus stayed in the top ten on their dry tyres, with Green losing out after running wide again at the hairpin at the restart. Further back, Blomqvist pitted for slicks and repairs, although he would retire a few laps later, while Maxime Martin suffered a suspension failure and was out. As the race passed the ten lap/ten minute mark, Robert Wickens became the man on the move, with the Canadian hunting down Paffett for second. He shot past the Brit into the Dutzendteichkehre on lap eleven, before beginning a charge to the back of Vietoris in the lead. But, as the Canadian began to push, the slick shod cars began to set times just a second off those on the wets, with DRS enabled on lap 14, prompting Paffett to pit. One lap later, and the rest of the leaders were in, but Vietoris, Wickens and co. ultimately slipped behind Wehrlein, who leapt from eighth to first in the space of two laps. Paul di Resta stayed out a lap longer, before emerging just ahead of Green. Unfortunately for the Scot, Green clipped the back of his Mercedes as they went through the Scholler Esses, (di Resta having been on the outside of Bruno Spengler) sending him into a spin, which the Scot caught impressively, but the damage was done, with di Resta retiring as a result. Wickens rediscovered his pre-stop form over the following laps, lining up a move on Vietoris into the Grundig Kehre which he completed successfully. Paffett pulled a similar move at the final hairpin on the German later in the lap, as Wickens begun the hunt for Wehrlein. Unfortunately for the Canadian, Paffett was immediately on his tail and attacking throughout the lap, allowing Wehrlein some breathing room for the time being. Green and Spengler, meanwhile, were working together to catch the leaders, with Green going unpunished for the di Resta incident. Spengler slung a move down the inside of Farfus into the Grundig Kehre for fifth, with Green using the move to his advantage to snatch sixth. In response, Vietoris dropped off the lead trio to defend the potential one-two-three for Mercedes, with Wehrlein, Wickens and Paffett told to hold station. With the Mercedes train at the front now an official stalemate, the action was to be had further down, as Green lost out to Martin Tomczyk while the fastest lap swapped between almost every car in the field as the track dried. lost time after locking up into the Grundig Kehre on the penultimate lap, leading him down in seventeenth. But while he toiled, the Mercedes train completed an impressive race, with Wehrlein taking his second career win, with Audi off the podium for the first time in 2015. Result The full result from race one is displayed below: Qualifying (Race Two) In contrast to Saturday, the Sunday qualifying session was bathed in sunshine throughout as one of the closest qualifying sessions in DTM history emerged.'BRUNO SPENGLER CLAIMS FIRST POLE OF THE YEAR FOR BMW', dtm.com, (DTM, 28/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/bruno-spengler-claims-first-pole-year-bmw-2015-06-28.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) By a margin of just 0.004s, Canadian Bruno Spengler claimed pole for BMW, their first of 2015, defeating Saturday pole sitter Christian Vietoris. Robert Wickens was also in close attendance, a further 0.009s back, with the top three a tenth ahead of the rest of the top ten. Indeed, there was just a tenth between (one of only two Audis in the top half) in fourth and Daniel Juncadella in tenth, with Lucas Auer taking a career best fifth. Pascal Wehrlein claimed sixth ahead of Jamie Green and Paul di Resta, with Maxime Martin sneaking into ninth to be the second best placed BMW. Gary Paffett and Augusto Farfus completed the top half of the field, as all but one of the Mercedes found themselves in the higher reaches of the grid. The big stragglers, once again, were Audi, with Timo Scheider at the back once again, joined by Miguel Molina on the back row. Champion Marco Wittmann was another to struggle, only managing 22nd, beaten by BMW rookie Tom Blomqvist in 20th. That said, the total time difference between Spengler on pole, and Molina in 24th was just 0.625s, with many drivers removing wing mirrors around the tight city streets during the session. Post-Qualifying (Two) The results of qualifying for race two are shown below. Race Two Sunday afternoon was awash with sunlight, and the Norisring circuit was bone dry, with another fast and furious race expected to emerge. The main question ahead of the 60 minute race, which would feature a mandatory pitstop, was whether Bruno Spengler could help end BMW's woes and win their first race of the season, or at the very least hang on to a podium spot. Report Like Saturday, the top three made it through the first corner cleanly, with Spengler holding off Robert Wickens and Christian Vietoris successfully through the hairpin. The only contact came at the back of the field, as the concertina effect from the entire field trying to get through the tight corner caused to run out of room on the brakes, meaning he slammed into the back of Timo Glock, with Glock then forced into the side of Martin Tomczyk.'Race 2 - Full Re-Live (English) - DTM Norisring 2015', youtube.com, (YouTube, 25/07/2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2RN0m4Po44, (Accessed 30/08/2015) Gary Paffett made a blistering start to launch up from eleventh to seventh, as Mike Rockenfeller pitted to retire with damage. Wickens now began attacking the back of Spengler, and had the use of DRS after the start of lap four, at least until the result of the hairpin collision hit Glock. As the German exited the first hairpin at the back of the field on lap four, the air caught the underside of his lose bonnet with enough force to lift it off the car entirely. Glock had to limp back to the pits to retire, while the safety car emerged to allow the removal of the bonnet which had landed in the middle of the circuit. Four laps, and three minutes later, however, and Spengler was once again having to defend from Wickens, who managed to second guess his countryman's restart and maintain the gap. Lucas Auer, meanwhile, received a five second stop-go penalty to be served at his stop after being inaccurately placed in his grid slot, although the Austrian was running in fourth in only his sixth race. was the best Audi, running in fifth, and under pressure from Pascal Wehrlein, the charging Paffett and Paul di Resta, with the top eight beginning to pull away. Then, on lap 14, Wickens finally pulled a successful move on Spengler, having dived down the inside of Spengler into the Grundig Kehre, although Spengler was almost able to cut back on the exit. But, the BMW had lost momentum, and that fact allowed Vietoris to pull a good move into the Scholler Esses, with the German getting on the inside of the Canadian into the second part. Again, Spengler lost momentum, which allowed Auer to drag past him into the final hairpin, while a late dive by Ekstrom on the brakes pushed him down to fifth. In the space of a single lap, Spengler had gone from first to fifth. Wickens began a charge to break away from Vietoris, although the German was able to keep with him, as Ekstrom lauched several attacks at Auer for third. The Swede was finally successful after getting a strong run out of the final hairpin, pulling ahead of the Austrian into the Grundig Kehre, on lap nineteen, with the pit window opening a few minutes later. Daniel Juncadella was the first man into the pits for his stop, joined by Adrien Tambay. The next 20 minutes saw a flurry of stops, with the big winner being di Resta, who leapt to fifth from eighth. That was not to last, however, as Pascal Wehrlein eased his way past as the race entered the final third of its time, as Miguel Molina became the last man to complete his mandatory stop. Wickens was another winner, as his new tyres and quick stop allowed him to pull clear of Vietoris, who was now a lonely second, ahead of Ekstrom after Auer served his penalty. The final laps saw Spengler begin a counter charge against Ekstrom for the final podium spot, as two other battles took the attention of the cameras. Di Resta and Wehrlein were battling once again, with the Scot forcing his way back past in the closing stages, while Jamie Green, Maxime Martin and Auer swapped milliseconds of time in their battle for the final points. Martin eventually vanquished the Brit into the Grundig Kehre, which also opened the door for Auer. With three laps to go, Wehrlein and di Resta once again traded places, while Spengler forced a surprise move on Ekstrom for third, grabing third into the Grundig Kehre. The final lap saw a late move by Auer, who stole ninth away from Martin at the start of the lap, as Wickens crossed the line to take his third career victory, ahead of Vietoris and Spengler. Results The second race final result is displayed below: ** Blomqvist excluded from the result by the stewards after the scrutineers judged it to contain elements that were deemed illegal.'NORISRING RESULTS NOT FINAL YET', dtm.com, (DTM, 28/06/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/norisring-results-not-final-yet-2015-06-28.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) Category:2015 Races Category:Norisring Milestones * Standings Jamie Green remained in the lead of the Championship despite only managing to score six points across the weekend, with cutting the gap to eleven points. Pascal Wehrlein's second career win earned him third overall, overtaking Edoardo Mortara, while Robert Wickens broke into the top five after his win on Sunday. Bruno Spengler was now the best placed BMW driver, but was well down in ninth. The Teams Championship had changed significantly at the Norisring, as HWA left in the lead of the Championship, Team Rosberg having slipped to third. Abt Sportsline retained second, although their second team had also fallen behind the other HWA outfit. Audi still retained their lead in the Brands Championship, but had lost their 150 point advantage, as Mercedes-Benz closed to within 50. BMW continued to be cut adrift in all three Championships, with only 88 points between their eight cars. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:2015 Races Category:Norisring Category:Races